Belgard
by confessing-to-heichou
Summary: Please don't smile at me like that.


Annie walked around the Military Police grounds. She was sick of all these dumbasses, whining about all the paperwork they had to do.

'It's either paperwork or seeing comrades die. Choose one.' She bitterly thought to herself as she walked into her squad's office.

"Ahem, attention everyone!" Her squad leader shouted, gathering the attention of just a few people in the room.

"The Scouting Legion will be staying here, the Stohess district of Sina. As the Military Police, it is our job to guide them around and provide them with necessities. When I call your name, please come forward so I can tell you the person/people you will be assisting." He announced, gaining much more attention than before.

"Cool! Now we won't have to do paperwork anymore!" A nearby girl shouted excitedly to her friend.

"Yup! I just hope I don't get that Titan shifting freak. What if he eats me-"  
Her sentence was cut short as she caught Annie glaring at her from the corner of her eye. She cowered in fear and dropped the topic.

'Hmph. Toned her down.' Annie thought before slightly widening her eyes as realization dawned upon her.

Why had she stood up for Eren?  
It's not like they were.. Friends or anything.

The squad leader's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Rachel Bradenburg. You will be assisting Sasha Braus and Mikasa Ackerman."

"Samuel Carson. You will be assisting Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Fubar."

And so it went on alphabetically. When the letter "L" neared, he skipped over her. Confused, she went over and asked him at the end.

"Excuse me, but my name wasn't announced." She said in a monotonous tone.

"Ah, yes. You are Annie Leonhardt, right?"

She nodded in confirmation.

"You have a very big responsibility. You have been chosen by Commander Erwin himself to watch over Eren Jaeger." He said, smiling.

Annie raised an eyebrow in confusion.  
"If I may ask; why was I chosen? Wouldn't he be better off just staying alongside the superiors?"

"The commander feels that Eren deserves some time away from his superiors, as he trusts that he has gained more control over his power. Also, you guys were in the same trainee group, no? You two should get along just right. They'll be coming into Stohess tomorrow afternoon." He replied, patting her shoulder before exiting the room.

Annie sighed in exasperation.

"Hey, hey! Who'd you get? I got some girls named Christa Renz and Ymir!" Hitch asked her, appearing out of nowhere.

"Eren Jaeger." She answered, once again in that monotonous tone.

"Jaeger? That's the Titan boy! Ya better be careful~" Hitch said in a playful tone before scampering off to pester Marlo.

Annie sighed and shook her head before retiring to her quarters.

"Eh? Leaving already? It's only 3 in the afternoon!" Hitch shouted.

Annie ignored her and continued walking.

When she reached her bed, she flopped onto it, back first.

"Eren.. Huh," she murmured before stripping herself of her clothes and falling asleep.

"Psst.. Pst!" Hitch whisper-shouted. "Get up, Annie! You can't be late!"

Annie groggily opened her eyes expecting to see the white ceiling above her, only to meet with Hitch's eyes.

She simply glared at the other before getting out of her bed and into the washroom.

"Oops.. I guess I upset her~" Hitch sang before quickly scurrying off to her post.

After returning to her room to get dressed in her full uniform, Annie was pleased to see Hitch gone. She slipped on her boots and strolled to her post, just in time for the squad leader to check them.

"It seems that you are all here. Let's head on out. They'll be here in 30 minutes or so." He said, leading them to the exit.

As they walked, she wondered about Eren.  
'I wonder how he's been.. Has he learned how to maneuver his Titan form?' She thought to herself before stopping in startling realization that she could not afford to get close to him.

Not with her secret in the way. 

The creaking of the doors signaled the arrival.

As the large wooden doors opened, the members entered.

When they passed, the Military Police saluted them. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a small tuft of blonde hair.

'Armin..' She thought. Although Annie would never admit it out loud, he was a sweet kid who had wormed his way into her heart.

She watched the other members come in on horseback. At the end of the line was Eren, along with the Corporal and Commander.

The Scouting Legion members stopped and faced the Military Police members.

"Military Police, meet your guests. Salute!" Annie's squad leader bellowed.

All of her fellow mates saluted and went off to find their assigned guest(s).

Annie strolled for a little bit and quickly found Eren.

"Eren." She said, capturing his attention.

"Annie! How's it been?" He asked, smiling.

'What the- Don't smile at me like that..' She thought, internally blushing.

"It's been fine. And you? Had any near-death experiences?" Annie responded stiffly.

He laughed, with those radiant green eyes glistening. His smile was absolutely captivating.

'Goddammit, Eren. Stop smiling, you idiot.' She angrily thought, mentally kicking herself.

"Actually, I haven't! We're supposed to head out on our 57th expedition pretty soon. Next month, I think. So, I haven't gone out lately. Just cleaned the HQ and relaxed. We're just here to get to know the Stohess area." He responded, smiling at her once again.

She nodded slowly.

57.

The expedition that she will join in on.  
As the female Titan.

Annie let the thoughts process in her mind.  
'I have to. I can't back down. Or else I will fail as a warrior.' She reprimanded herself.

"Hey, Annie. You alright there?" Eren asked, swiping a hand in front of her to get her attention.

"Huh- yeah." She said.

"Well, follow me," she continued. "I'll show you where you're staying and then I'll take you around town."

Eren nodded and trailed behind her.

"How's Military Police life?" He asked, wanting to converse.

"Borning. Too much paperwork." She quickly replied.

He laughed once again. "Haha, I see. Have you made any friends?"

Annie shook her head. "This girl, Hitch, considers me as a friend. I consider her a nuisance."

"Hey, that's a bit cold." Eren said sternly, but smiled once again.

He matched her quick pace and soon walked right by her side.

It was quiet before Annie talked again.

"Have you.. Made any friends?" She quietly asked.

"Yup! Since the corporal has to keep an eye out for me, I'm in his squad. Besides me are 4 others. Erd, Gunther, Auruo, and Petra." He answered.

Annie stiffened. He said a girl's name. Petra. She felt something simmer deep within her.

'What.. Am I jealous of this girl? Ha, of course not. I don't give two shits if she and Eren have something going on. I could care less.' She thought.

"I see." Annie replied. "Well, here we are."

They stood in front of a nice looking bunkhouse, much nicer than the usual military ones.

"Your room is 091. Here's the key." She said, handing him a small silver key.

"Thanks." He said smiling.

"I'll help you find the room." She said and led the way once again.

They reached in front of a white door with "091" nicely fixated on the top center on a nameplate.

Eren stepped forward and pushed the key into the lock and turned. He opened the door.

In the room, there were two beds, a dresser with 6 drawers, two desks, and one closet.

"Whoa.. This is nice." Eren eagerly said. "Hey, why are there two beds?

Annie quickly responded. "Since I'm guiding you, I have to stay nearby. It's easier than constantly going back and forth from my station to here."

Eren's face was a light shade of pink. He was gonna be in a room. Alone with Annie.  
Annie.  
Who is a girl.

"Eren. Are you listening?" Cut him from his thoughts.

"Oh yeah what? Sorry, I kinda lost track of my mind." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Get unpacked and then I'll take you to town." She said.

"Oh okay. Thanks!" Eren responded, smiling.

As he started to place his belongings in the drawers and closets, he started to resume his thoughts from earlier.

'Alone with Annie. Annie is a girl. I am a boy. Is this even okay? I guess it is.. I'm guessing they chose Annie to guide me since she's not the type of girl to come onto guys.. But what if there's another side to her?' He pondered while his cheeks started to turn a dark red color.

Annie raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of color of Eren's cheeks.

"Eren, your cheeks are red." She bluntly said.

"T-they are? Haha, weird. Well, I'm finished. You wanna head on out?" He asked, nervously laughing.

Annie nodded and stuck her hand out to Eren. "Give me the room key."

"Sure." He says, fishing the key from his jacket pocket.

She takes the key and places it in her own pocket before locking the door and heading out with Eren trailing behind.

Annie briefly waits for him to be close enough for him to hear her speak.

"Now I'm going to show you a bit of Stohess. The town, shops, people, etc. Only for today and your last day, we'll eat lunch and dinner in a restaurant. For the rest of the two weeks, you'll just be eating in the dormitories. There's a chef there." She informs.

"Gotcha." He responds, nodding his head in affirmation.

She makes a left and a right before going straight.  
As they continued to walk, more and more people entered their fields of vision.

"This is the town square. The shops are to your left, houses straight, and others to the right." She briefly tells him.

He nods once again, taking in the sight of Stohess. It was much more advanced than Maria or Rose. The people wore much fancier clothes. Men wore nicely tailored suits while women wore fine skirts and dresses.

"Hey, can we go see some shops?" Eren asked.

Sure." Annie answered in a bored tone.

She led him to the shopping district, watching him browse through shop windows.

"Wow, this is so cool!" He excitedly said, his eyes twinkling.

Annie let out a small smile. He looked like a little kid, seeing the shops for the first time.

She continued to observe his every reaction. When she noticed him staring at a dress through a window, she saw that his eyes were now a dull green.

"Mom.." He whispered, knowing that she would've wanted such a pretty dress like the one in the window.

It was simple, really. Just a simple maroon dress. He knew that the color really complimented his mother's beautiful eyes. Eren felt his heart become heavy, fully knowing that she would never come back. Knowing that he would never be able to give her that dress.

Annie looked up at him. Not knowing how to comfort him, she stood idly for a couple minutes before pulling him into a small hug.

"As long as you keep her alive in your heart, she will never die."

Eren's eyes widened when Annie pulled him into a hug and whispered those words.

His eyes brimmed with tears.

"Thanks.. Annie." He murmurs before letting a few tears fall.

She closed her eyes and continued to embrace him. After about 10 minutes, she released the hug.

"Let's go. It's almost dinner time." She said, walking towards the restaurants.

Eren walked next to her, interlocking his fingers with hers.

Annie looks up in surprise, a light pink dusting her face.

He simply smiles at her, his beautiful turquoise eyes glistening with radiance once again.

**EXTRA**

Two nights before her mission, Annie went to the dress shop and asked for the maroon dress in the window.

The early morning after, at around 4 o'clock, she quickly made her way to the ruins of Shiganshina in Wall Maria. In her Titan form, she walked around before coming across Eren's old house. Annie bent down and placed the dress under the collapsed roof.

"Your son is an honorable man. Please be proud of him." She mouthed, closing her eyes for a moment of silence.

The female Titan then rose up. Her mission was starting. No turning back.


End file.
